The Editor,
Lest we get to feel too self-righteous about the repressive governments in the Middle East, we need to review the history of our own governments.
During the 1919 strike in Winnipeg, the Royal North West Mounted police fired on unarmed strikers, killing two and wounding 30 others. It was another 20 years before collective bargaining was recognized in Canada.
When the FLQ tried to change the government of Quebec, Pierre Trudeau called out the army and proclaimed the War Measures Act. When asked how far he would go in using the army, this champion of human rights stated, "Just watch me!"
When peaceful demonstrators gathered around abortion clinics, some were imprisoned. Laws were passed that limited the freedom of expression and assembly.
Today, freedom of expression is limited by, as Rex Murphy stated, the "paradoxically named Human Rights Commission." This is a body under which the complainant gets legal support paid by taxpayers but the person charged has to pay for his legal representation. I have asked myself if I could charge the commission with inciting hatred by virtue of its mere existence.
Al Harms, Coquitlam
